Tele-health service is the use of telecommunications and/or technology to provide healthcare-related services from a distance. It not only expands access to quality patient care, especially to rural regions and underserved populations, but also provides a way to cut down healthcare costs. It is changing the healthcare delivery model for the better. According to HIS, the number of patients using tele-health service will rise from roughly 350,000 in 2013 to at least 7 million by 2018.
The most common form of a tele-health service is a doctor consulting a patient via video-chat platform. However, if doctor want to gather more patient vital signs, such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure, various extra devices and training are required. These devices are invasive, generally expensive, and need to be purchased in advance of the consultation.
Early diagnosis of various conditions can improve the quality and length of life of many patients. One such condition is stress, which has become one of the leading health issues. Clinical researchers have found that stress is a major cause of a range of diseases from cardiovascular disease to depression to substance abuse. According to the American Institute of Stress, workplace stress costs United States more than 300 billion each year, not only in health care costs but also in missed work, employee turnover, worker compensation, and insurance.
Currently, there are mainly two approaches to measure a subject's stress level. The first approach relies on self-reporting. Researchers have developed a wide variety of questionnaires to determine the stress level of a patient. The second and more reliable and accurate approach is the measurement of physiological characteristics, such as blood pressure, vagal tone or salivary cortisol. All these measures require the use of advanced devices and professional training.